| Major David Croft, OBE | |
|---|---|
| Born | David John Sharland 7 September 1922 Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset, England |
| Occupation | Writer, Producer, Director, Actor |
Major David John Croft, OBE (born 7 September 1922 in Sandbanks, Dorset, England as David John Sharland) is an English writer, producer and actor. He is particularly noted for producing and co-writing a string of hit BBC sitcoms including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served?, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and 'Allo 'Allo!.
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Early life
Born into a showbiz family, his mother, Anne, was a famous stage actress while his father, Reginald, had a successful career as a radio actor in Hollywood. He married his wife, also called Anne, on 29 June 1952, and they have seven children.
As an adolescent he featured (uncredited) in the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), as Perkins who fights Peter Colley who was played by Terry Kilburn who was one of the boys taught by Mr Chipping, the role performed by Robert Donat.
After Graduating from Sandhurst as an Officer; he served during the World War II. Croft eventually rose to the rank of Major, serving in North Africa, India and Singapore though as soon as he was de-mobbed he began working in the entertainment industry, following in his parents' footsteps. He worked as an actor, singer and writer, eventually settling as a TV producer. When he first entered show-business in 1929, at the age of 7, it was an appearance in a commercial shown in cinemas.[1]
Production and writing career
He is best known for writing (in collaboration) and producing British sitcoms such as Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi!, 'Allo 'Allo!, You Rang, M'Lord?, and Are You Being Served? Allegedly it was his wife, a former theatrical agent, who introduced him to then actor Jimmy Perry in the mid-1960s. It was Perry who originally had the idea for a comedy based on the Home Guard during World War II, and the pair ended up co-writing Dad's Army.
His co-writers were most often Jeremy Lloyd and Jimmy Perry, and later Richard Spendlove. His partnership with Perry proved so successful that the pair subsequently created and co-wrote It Ain't Half Hot Mum as well as Hi-de-Hi!. He also wrote Birds in the Bush.
As a producer, his trademark was to signal the end of an episode with the caption You Have Been Watching, followed by vignettes of the main cast.
He became an Officer of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire with Jimmy Perry in 1978 for services to television.
Croft wrote a television pilot entitled Here Comes The Queen with Are You Being Served co-creator Jeremy Lloyd. It is a sitcom starring Wendy Richard and Les Dennis.[2] A pilot was filmed in 2007.
Written with Jimmy Perry
- 1968–1977 Dad's Army
- 1974–1981 It Ain't Half Hot Mum
- 1980–1988 Hi-de-Hi!
- 1988–1993 You Rang, M'Lord?
Written with Jeremy Lloyd
- 1972–1985 Are You Being Served? (Series 1–8)
- 1977–1978 Come Back Mrs Noah
- 1980 Oh Happy Band!
- 1982–1992 'Allo 'Allo! (Series 1–6)
- 1992–1993 Grace and Favour
- 1994 Which Way to the War
- 2008 Here Comes the Queen
Written with Richard Spendlove
- 1995–1997 Oh, Doctor Beeching!
As producer
Perry and Croft
- Dad's Army: all 9 series
- It Ain't Half Hot Mum: except series 3 (Graeme Muir)
- Hi-de-Hi!: except series 5 and 9 (John Kilby and Mike Stephens)
- You Rang, M'Lord?: all 4 series
Lloyd and Croft
- Are You Being Served?: except series 2, 9 and 10 (Harold Snoad, Bob Spiers and Martin Shardlow)
- Come Back Mrs Noah
- Oh Happy Band!: all 6 episodes
- 'Allo 'Allo!: except series 7–9 (Mike Stephens and John B. Hobbs)
- Grace and Favour: Mike Stephens produced all 12 episodes
- Which Way to the War?: 1 episode
Croft and Spendlove
- Oh, Doctor Beeching!: series 1
As director
- Selected Episodes of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi!, Are You Being Served? and 'Allo 'Allo!
- You Rang, M'Lord?: series 1–2
- Oh Happy Band!: all 6 episodes
- Which Way to the War?: 1 episode
As executive producer
- Hi-de-Hi!: series 5 and 9
- Are You Being Served?: series 2, 9–10
- Oh, Doctor Beeching!: series 2
Other writers in his shows
Main writers
- Jimmy Perry
- Jeremy Lloyd
- Richard Spendlove
Other writers
Are You Being Served?
Jeremy Lloyd, David Croft and Michael Knowles wrote:
- "Cold Comfort" (21 March 1974)
- "Big Brother" (4 April 1974)
- "Shoulder to Shoulder" (10 April 1975)
- "New Look" (17 April 1975)
Jeremy Lloyd and John Chapman wrote:
- "Christmas Crackers" (22 December 1975)
Jeremy Lloyd wrote series 9 and 10 on his own because Croft had had a heart attack. Nonetheless, when the episodes are broadcast they are credited "By Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft", with an end credit stating "Script by Jeremy Lloyd".
'Allo 'Allo!
John Chapman and Ian Davidson wrote:
- "Wedding Bloss" (11 February 1989)
Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney wrote:
- "Down the Drain" (18 February 1989)
Jeremy Lloyd and Paul Adam wrote 'Allo 'Allo! series 7–9 because Croft had left the show.
Oh, Doctor Beeching!
John Stevenson wrote:
- "Past Love" (12 August 1996)
- "Job Opportunity" (19 August 1996)
- "A Bowl in the Hand" (7 September 1997)
Paul Minett and Brian Leveson wrote:
- "The Gravy Train" (13 July 1997)
- "A Pregnant Pause" (21 September 1997)
John Chapman wrote:
- "Lucky Strike" (27 July 1997)
- "Action Stations" (14 September 1997)
Other producers and directors in his shows
- Harold Snoad (Dad's Army and Are You Being Served?)
- Bob Spiers (Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Are You Being Served? and Come Back Mrs Noah)
- Graeme Muir (It Ain't Half Hot Mum)
- Ray Butt (It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Are You Being Served?)
- Phil Bishop (It Ain't Half Hot Mum)
- John Kilby (It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and Are You Being Served?)
- Robin Carr (Hi-de-Hi! and 'Allo 'Allo!)
- Mike Stephens (Hi-de-Hi!, 'Allo 'Allo! and Grace & Favour)
- Roy Gould (You Rang, M'Lord?, Which Way to the War and Oh, Doctor Beeching!)
- Bernard Thompson (Are You Being Served?)
- Gordon Elsbury (Are You Being Served?)
- Martin Shardlow (Are You Being Served?)
- Martin Dennis (Allo 'Allo!)
- Susan Belbin ('Allo 'Allo!)
- Richard Boden ('Allo 'Allo!)
- Sue Longstaff ('Allo 'Allo!)
- John B. Hobbs ('Allo 'Allo!)
- Don Reynolds (Which Way to the War)
- Charles Galland (Oh, Doctor Beeching!)
- Margaret Bond (Birds in the Bush)
References
- ^ Shown in Comedy Connections 'Allo 'Allo! and It Ain't Half Hot Mum
- ^ Daily Mirror: Miss Brahms Is Back
External links
- David Croft at the Internet Movie Database
- List of works at the BBC Guide to Comedy
- Biography at UKTV
- www.davidcroft.co.uk website
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